Notes on Labor/Management Meetings
March 9, 2006
Present: Jim Dix, Dennis Selzner, Joe Schultz, Darryl Wood, Shelia Doyle, Ann Glossl, Sylvia Hall, Lois DeFleur, Crystal Brown (intern)
Health and Safety . UUP summarized concerns about health and safety of represented members that had been brought up over the past few years (see attached letter). Members have inferred from the administration's response to various health and safety issues that the university did care for the welfare of its employees.
President DeFleur responded that these were “serious charges”. In contrast to public universities in some other states, SUNY is a NY state agency, and as such is bound by various state laws and restrictions. It must operate in a particular legal environment. BU administration will keep working on health and safety problems; it is an ongoing process. BU administration has been trying to solve the problems. The administration has looked at options (for example, closing roads to improve pedestrian safety), but sometimes the solution is not feasible because, for example, it would cost too much.
President DeFleur further stated that she has asked the Vice President of Administration, Jim Van Voorst, to look again at ways to improve communication between the administration and university personnel, and to look at existing committees to see whether their charge can be improved to address health and safety concerns. These efforts are part of a larger effort of Van Voorst to reorganize administration at BU. An example of the benefits of the ongoing reorganization is the flip charts that have been distributed, giving what to do in the event of an emergency. The administration has decided to go with outside independent contractors to deal with much of the remediation on campus.
UUP stated that when a health and safety problem arises, there is a disconnect between what the administration says and what other disinterested persons say about proper steps to address the problem. For example, in the remediation of mold in the basement of the Lecture Halls, the university's remediation procedure was much less strict that that recommended on an OSHA web site. This disconnect leads UUP members to think the administration is trying to hide something, or trying to minimize the problem at the expense of the member's health and safety.
President DeFleur asked why UUP members took their complaints to UUP. UUP responded that UUP was becoming more well known as a place where problems can be addressed, and that members who tried to go through administration channels were unsuccessful in getting a problem addressed or resolved. President DeFleur stated that the administration needed to identify people or administrative groups who are not doing their jobs, so that the administration could “zero in” on the problem and make a change. UUP stated that they would provide a list of specific concerns subject to any confidentiality a member may wish to have.
UUP mentioned that obtaining information via FOIL rather than directly from the administration could be interpreted as an intentionally erected roadblock to dissemination of information. President DeFleur and Sylvia Hall responded by saying the university needed a common pathway to disseminate information so that all legal steps are followed (for example, redacting personal information from reports).
President DeFleur stated that the administration would look into forming a UUP/Management Health and Safety Committee at BU; however, in general, she felt that the university does not need additional committees that require significant time from committee members that already are under time pressure.
February 23, 2006
President DeFleur,
Over the last few years we hazve had our ups and downs and now feel we have a good working relationship with the university. Our concerns and needs are communicated and the university understands them. A greement on whether items must be acted upon is not always reached, but we clearly feel you recognize our positions. There are still concerns about differences in priorities but, as you are aware, we have agreed to disagree in the past. We are now at a crossroads and cannot emphasize enough the importance of the issues we raise at this meeting.
We refer to the issues related to the health and safety of our members – these supersede all others for the organization.
These problems must not only be addressed but solved if our relationship is to survive. We understand the university is considering the creation of a Health and Safety Committee, a committee whose work could have dealt with many of the issues we have raised at Labor/Management meetings over the last several years, e.g., pedestrian safety, PCB's and, now, mold and other hazardous conditions in the workplace. Creation of such a committee is still necessary but that alone will not resolve these issues.
We respond to our member's needs and concerns and they feel the university has not taken their concerns seriously. They believe the university has hidden information related to the safety of their work environments and they believe the university has placed others in danger by not taking action. Their perceptions in this area have become reality. We wish the facts were available so a rational discussion could occur but the lack of openness appears to confirm their worst fears. They believe the university is hiding the truth.
Some of our members, including members of our Chapter Executive Board, want to discuss these fears and concerns in much more public venues than our Labor/Management meetings. Our concern is what those discussions will do to the reputation of Binghamton University . If these concerns do become public and UUP is asked for comment, we will be honest about our frustrations in this area.
We strongly urge you to place our health and safety concerns at the top of your priority list. We will do everything we can to assist in finding separate funding for any remediation and will work with you to educate our members about your efforts. We are worried about what might happen if this does not move to the top of the university's concerns.
Our thirteen hundred members, as well as the larger university community, must work in a safe environment. Our goal is to facilitate that. Together, we can make this happen. Please join us in that goal.
We look forward to meeting with you.
Sincerely, Darryl M. Wood , Chapter President
Archived LM notes:
Feb, 2007 | Jan, 2007 | Dec, 2006
Nov, 2006 | Oct, 2006 | Sep, 2006
Jun, 2006 | May, 2006 | Apr, 2006
Mar, 2006 | Feb, 2006 | Nov, 2005
Oct, 2005 | Oct, 2005 | Sep, 2005
Apr, 2005 | Mar, 2005 | Feb, 2005
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